do kitty siblings recognise each other??

Hi all, i'm a new member and am in need of answers! Lol. I have 2 boy cats one who is 13(Sarge) and one who isnt really mine but likes to live here part time,lol. The cat 'Mog' belongs to neighbours a few blocks away but since he was young decided he liked it here, well i have to admit if i was a cat i wouldnt mind living here either! Anyway he's about 2 yrs and he started to bring a she cat here with him, i never thought much and gave her a few tit bits as i often do, then 2 wks later i came home from work and she was sitting in my back garden with her 3 4/5 week old kittens. I found out she'd been booted out by her former owner when they knew she was in the family way, which i thought would have been easily avoidable in this day and age but some people just dont look after their animals properly. So being the animal lovers we are (partner is totally allergic but wouldn't dream of leaving her to fend for herself!) we caught the kitties and the mum was all too happy to join our family. I gave two of the kittens to a neighbour(hardest day of my life, i cried my leg off more than once!!) who lives right at the back of us, and i kept one (a tortoiseshell girl we called Tiger) and the mum who we christened Queenie. Now the question: When my Tiger and her brother and sister are old enough to walk the walls between the gardens, will they recognise each other? I do have a cat book but its quite old and concentrates more on care than behaviour. So I thought this would be a good place to find out. Thankyou in advance to anybody who has the time and knowledge to answer my question. Flumpsey (Sara Shelton)

Unless the brother/sister have frequent contact, they probably will not recognize each other if separated for a few months.

thanks for your help GoldenKitty45, its greatly appreciated. x

We took in a stray cat, Missy, her sister was still outdoors and she'd come by looking in the windows. Missy would sit and talk to her, other cats that came around Missy would run away she'd only stay for her sister.

It also depends on the different mixes that went into the siblings, since kittens in a litter can have different fathers, and thus they can be, genetically, more like half-siblings.

If some new, unfixed cat blew into town, two kittens could be the only ones they've found who smell similar to them because they share genes more. Sometimes, this will make siblings fight, since they prefer outcross matings based on scent, and will prefer to not room with their siblings.

Driving siblings into new territories will make genetic sense. They would meet more outcrosses that way.

If introduced as kittens, and raised together, siblings will be more tolerant of the personality mismatch, if any. Older siblings will not have this advantage.

I had a brother and sister who were always close, but after living apart for 6 months, she didn't seem to accept him anymore, but he seemed to accept and remember her. I also had a mother cat who still reprimanded her 6 year old daughter by biting the back of her neck when she misbehaved like a kitten. I'd like to think they remember each other, you'd think their smell would have something to do with it?

Not if they are seperated for too long, regardless of if they were litter mates or not, or even grew up in the same home for a period of time. Sometimes even a trip to the vet makes them act strange towards each other.

They recognise each other mostly by smell (though sight does play a part), and that depends more on what they eat and their environment than genetics. So unless they are sharing food and territory they will not usually recognise each other, and will fight or mate or maybe become friends, regardless of their family relationship.

I doubt they will recognize each other as siblings after several months but they still might become buddies.

I have a brother and sister in the same house and they don't recognize each other. Bob is easy going and does not care but Pennie hisses and yells at him all the time. Bob just ignores her.

She has developed quite a little attitude but she is sweet to me so I sort of ignore her cranky side.